


Gamble for me

by madbunnifun



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, BDSM, Domination, Drug Use, M/M, Smut, ereri, uh
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-04
Updated: 2013-11-10
Packaged: 2017-12-31 11:03:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1030937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madbunnifun/pseuds/madbunnifun
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Tell you what, since you helped me when no one else gave a shit, i'll help you." He let go of my hands, to which I was greatly disappointed. </p><p>"Really?" I raised a brow in question, "How?" </p><p>He stepped closer and rested his hand on my chest, causing my heart to nearly explode just from the contact. "Let me be your personal body guard." </p><p>-</p><p>Au where Eren likes to gamble and happens to give one nights winnings to someone who looks like they could really use it. The man then returns and offers protection to Eren in gratitude for the money.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Begining starts in early July ^w^

Cue the crumbling, sex-center, downtown city. Turn a few shady street corners until you finally meet up with crappy neon signs and blasting rave music. Enter one of said establishments and make your way to the back, through one of the numerous ‘employee’s only’ doors. Head down the deteriorating shadowed hall to a small room with a table set up for cards and two chairs, each both occupied by individuals on different sides of the age spectrum. The younger, dashingly handsome might I add, is me. My name’s Eren, I’m 21 years old, and this is typically how I spend my Friday nights. In this room, playing shit-for-brains out of their money. Tonight wasn’t any different.

“Well, kid? There’s no way you’ve got a better han’ than this. Admit it, you’re beat. Now pay up!” My oh so lovely companion here is Mr. G. He literally has people call him ‘G’, god it’s so fucking stupid. This is his first time coming here to play me. Apparently I’ve built up quite the reputation. Anyway, back to me stripping down this man’s pride.

I rolled my eyes and frowned, strumming my fingers across the soft green table in front of me. “Hm, you really think you can win so easily, old man? With that mediocre flush of yours?”

He laughed at me, he actually fucking laughed. I grit my teeth and resisted the urge to land my fist on his face. “Yer just a dumb brat. I’ve been playin’ this game for years.” His grin faded and he made a pathetic gesture towards my cards that still laid face down on the table. “Now turn ‘em over so we can get on with this.”

I shrugged and suppressed a smirk as I turned the cards over, one by one. It was no surprise that the old man had started cursing immediately, considering I’d beaten him with a straight flush. I crossed my arms and leaned back in my seat, allowing for the smirk to finally show itself. “Now, what were you saying about paying up?”

“You lil’ cheat! I didn’t lose! You fucking cheated!” He slammed his fists on the table, which triggered an automatic eye roll from me. The older ones seem to have the biggest temper tantrums.

I raised my hands in front of me, palms facing out. “How could I do that? After all, you’ve been playing for years.” I nodded towards the numerous guards that were standing in the corners of the small room, “Don’t you think someone would have noticed if I had something up my sleeve? It’s not like I’m in dire need of money, either.” Joke’s on him, because god knows I cheated.

The old man grunted and hurriedly gestured towards one of the men in black suits to bring over a silver case. He quickly pulled out a small parcel and tossed it at me, which I eagerly grabbed and stuffed into my pocket as best as it would fit.

“Not goin’ ta count it?” He crossed his arms, like he was begging me to challenge him just so he’d have a reason to stick his men on me.

I smiled calmly, my wide eyes slightly narrowing. “I trust that this is the correct amount. You wouldn’t want to tarnish your ‘good name’.” I pushed away from the table and started towards the door, waving half heartedly at the old croon. “Don’t come back unless you want to lose another five grand.” He was probably pissing himself with anger at that comment, but I couldn’t care less. I shut the door behind me and made my way down a dark hall, pushing open the heavy door at the end to be enveloped by bright lights and blaring music. My earlier frown returned as I glared out at the hoard of people dancing and grinding together on the dance floor. I wasn’t much for parties or crowds, and the thick smell of perspiration in the air wasn’t much to be desired either.

“Eren!” A short blonde stumbled out from the crowd and threw his arms around my waist. “How was your game? You won, right?” He laughed and released his grip on me, “Of course you did!” This was Armin, by best friend. I loved him the way I loved my sister, Mikasa, who was also heading in my direction; only slightly off balance with a drink in each hand.

“Armin, you forgot this.” She handed Armin his beer, to which I raised a brow.

“I think you’ve guys had enough. You reek.” I plucked the drink from Armin’s lips and stole Mikasa’s as well, abandoning them on a near-by table as I pulled the pair by their hands towards the exit.

“Eren, we weren’t done. We want to dance more.” Mikasa stopped dead in her tracks, her dark eyes looking strangely emotionless against her tinted cheeks. She tried to pull her hand away, which prompted me to latch on tighter.

“We can dance at home.” I side-glanced at Armin, who was frowning at something and staring off into space. “Armin can come to, obviously.” 

Mikasa didn’t budge, so I squeezed her hand and looked at her apologetically. “Please?”

She muttered a response and walked past me on her own, grabbing Armin’s other hand to drag him and me along. 

I laughed lightly and trailed behind, at that point I had let go of Armin’s hand but he probably didn’t even notice. We were already outside and heading to where my car was parked when I caught something out of the corner of my eye. Well not really something, but more of a someone. I stopped walking and stared for a few minutes, making sure it was who I thought it was. I made sure Mikasa and Armin were heading in the right direction before crossing the street as quietly as I could. I cautiously watched the gentleman who sat a little ways back in the ally, not looking in my direction. I had seen him there before, on multiple occasions. I never really got a good look at his face, but this was definitely him. He didn’t seem too particularly dirty, but his clothes were torn and they never changed. I could only assume he was homeless, and that this filthy ally was the next best thing he had. My hand had ventured to my pocket, where it crumpled the package that I had received earlier. This caused his head to shoot in my direction, his face still hidden by the shadows. His black hair didn’t help with defining where he ended and the darkness started. 

I shifted awkwardly from one foot to the other, then slowly shifted the small bag out of my pocket. “Uhm.. I’m sorry for intruding. I always see you around here, and I uh;” I froze when his posture straightened, but it didn’t seem like he was going to stand, or run away, so I stepped closer and continued. “I hope this isn’t terribly rude of me, or anything, but here.” I crouched down, a little suddenly for even myself, but extended my arm out regardless and waited for him to accept the offer. At this position I could better see his features. He had dark grey eyes and thin lips; his brows knitted in what I guessed was confusion as he reached his arm out and touched the package. 

I glanced down at his hand when his slender fingers brushed against mine. Despite being outside, his hand was weirdly warm. I looked back up as he took the bag in his hands and started opening it, his narrow eyes widening only a little when he saw its contents.

“I won that,” I laughed a little, feeling strangely honest at the moment. “Well, it’s more like I cheated for it, but those old bastards have enough to roll around in that they won’t miss this much.”

He looked up from the bag at me, his lips parting to say something before he squeezed them shut again. He tried to shove the small package back into my arms but I gently pushed back. His hands were seriously incredibly warm. A small blush crept up my neck as I glanced away, my hands still on his.

“Please, keep this. I don’t need it, and you obviously do. Use it to get some good food, new clothes, and a warm shower.” I had no qualms over giving the money I’d robbed from a crook to someone who actually had real use for it. I won’t mention how it boosted my ego; that would just make me into an asshole. 

My gaze returned to him when I felt the pressure from his hands ease. He nodded and shoved the bag into his hole filled jacket, starting to stand up.

I stood myself and gently held his elbow to help him up, “Do you want-“

“Eren!” My head jolted towards the street, where I saw Mikasa carrying Armin on her back. She still hadn’t seen me, so I decided to call out to her.

“I’m over here! Give me a minute, I’m helping-“ My eyes scanned over the darkness behind me, but the man was gone. He must have run off while I was distracted by Mikasa. I shrugged, a small twinge pulling at my heart. I was going to offer him a ride, but even homeless people have their pride. I just hoped he would use the money to better himself and not on something else. I hadn’t smelled alcohol on him, so that was at least a small reassurance. I couldn’t be sure about anything else, though. In all seriousness, I really felt bad for him. I don’t know why, I usually don’t pay mind to anyone on those streets. They’re just blurred faces and voices I would never have to think twice about. Seeing him in that ally for what had to be the tenth time somehow got to me. He didn’t fit in. He looked like the type of person fit in with fine suits and expensive wine. Not dirty rags and blood-stained pavement. 

I sighed as I crossed the street back to Mikasa, who was trying to position Armin more comfortably on her back. “Looks like the little fucker got all tired out. I knew he’d had enough.” I grinned and positioned myself in front of Mikasa so she could place him onto my back instead of hers. “We should just take him home.” I was personally fine with him crashing at my place, but he’d most likely appreciate waking up in his own bed in the morning.

Mikasa tapped my shoulder and once again began walking towards my car. “What were you doing?” She seemed annoyed, I didn’t blame her.

“Charity work.” My grip on Armin’s thighs tightened as he stirred in his sleep. I tried not to look at Mikasa as her mood noticeably soured.

“Why don’t you elaborate on that a little bit, Eren?” I could practically hear the glare in her tone.

I rolled my eyes, my hand automatically gesturing before my brain registered that I would drop Armin if I did that again. “I gave the money I got from tonight’s game to someone who needed it.”

Mikasa stepped in front of me, holding one hand in my path and the other on her hip. I had no choice but to meet her glare with one of my own, though she held out longer and I resigned to closing my eyes and sighing out through my nose.

“You mean to tell me you gave our weed money away to some bum who’s probably going to use it to overdose on heroin?” Her speech was slightly off, so she was definitely still some-what drunk.

“You’ve had too much to drink, let’s talk about this tomorrow.” I pushed passed her arm and continued walking.

“Seriously, Eren? If you wanted to help people you could’ve given it to someone who would-“

I cut her off, not interested in hearing the rest of her argument. “Mikasa, he looked like he really needed it. And I felt bad for him. Can’t you just be glad that I expressed something other than anger towards another human being that wasn’t you or Armin?”

At that, Mikasa shrugged. “I guess.” She dropped the conversation, and I certainly wasn’t going to continue it. 

As we walked my mind wondered back to him. I thought about what he might say next week when I saw him again. If I saw him again. Would he thank me? Would I actually be able to properly see his face? Maybe he wouldn’t even be there, considering I’d given him reason not to be slumming it up in an ally. I realized that a small part of me wanted to see him again, just to know he was okay.

We finally made it to my car, a green and black Lamborghini Bugatti Veyron. God I loved that fucking car. Sleek, fast, and expensive as hell. That’s partly why I parked so far away from the club; I didn’t want it to get unnecessary attention. I slid Armin onto Mikasa’s lap, she didn’t mind and it wasn’t like there was anywhere else to put him, then got into my side and put my seatbelt on before starting the car. I laid my hands on the wheel, staring at Mikasa and giving her an expectant look.

“Fine, fine.” Mikasa rolled her eyes and maneuvered the belt around her and Armin. I had a strict seat belt policy, especially in this car and when it was so late. 

I smiled, satisfied, and stepped on the gas. We made it to Armin’s place in no time, Mikasa waited in the car while I took him into his room. It was a struggle to retrieve the spare key from under the flower pot while trying to make sure Armin didn’t fall to the ground, but I somehow managed. Surprisingly enough his grandfather was still awake, reading a book on the living room couch. It must have been a fucking terrific book because he barely acknowledged me on my way in and out. Mikasa was already asleep in the car when I got back, which was so great because that meant I’d probably have to carry her too.

Before we go any further, I should explain a few things. One, Mikasa’s not really my sister, my parents adopted her. Her mom died in labor and her dad died from a car accident when she was five. Her dad had been one of my mom’s personal security guards, and she didn’t want to see Mikasa going into any form of foster care. Which I’m thankful for since I was already extremely attached to the little brat at that point. We would always play together with Armin, whose grandfather was one of our personal chefs before he retired. I miss his food. Anyway, let’s get on to how my parents can afford such luxuries as security and food services. You’ve heard of Jaeger Enterprises, one of the leading science research companies in the world, haven’t you? Of course you have, you don’t live under a rock. I neglected to mention that my last name is Jaeger, and my parents are Carla and Grisha Jaeger. My mom’s grandfather founded the company, who in turn handed it off to my dad’s father, who then passed it on to him. You can see where this is going.

The thing is, I don’t want to do all that business bullshit. I don’t understand why they can’t just hand the company over to some lackey who’s worked his whole life just to be able to tell people what to do. That’s the real reason I don’t want to take over, I didn’t work for anything. I don’t deserve to be put into that position just because of who I was born to. You understand, don’t you? But enough of that, let’s continue where I left off.

I slightly frowned as I turned my car onto my street, which is what it was. We literally owned the whole fucking street. I slowed down and stopped briefly at the metal gates that entrapped our property, instantly being recognized by the night guard. How these people can stand being paid for just sitting there all day and night really frustrates me. I suppose if I were born under different circumstances I would jump at the chance to get money for doing nothing but sit on my ass. I must have pulled through the gates too harshly, because Mikasa was sitting up and rubbing her eyes. 

“We’re home.” She settled back into her seat, resting her head against the window as she looked out at the passing trees.

“Yeah. We’ll be pulling up in a minute.” I disliked our cobblestone ‘driveway’ for two reasons, it was long as hell, about two miles, and when you got to the end there was this stupid fountain in the middle that I had to drive around. I glanced at the clock; it was almost two-thirty, not bad. We usually didn’t get home until around four. I had finished my game rather early, and it’s good I did since Armin decided he was going to drink more than usual. Oh, he’d been frowning, hadn’t he?

“Hey, Mikasa, is Armin okay?” There wasn’t an immediate response, and I knew she was still awake even though her eyes had closed. She was hiding something. I poked her side, repeating the action when I didn’t get a response the first time. 

Mikasa grabbed my fingers but didn’t look at me. “I can’t believe he didn’t tell you.” 

My brows moved together, worry in my eyes. “Tell me what?”

She sighed.

I shook my fingers from her grip and locked the doors, then pulled around that monstrosity of a fountain and turned the car off when I was parked in front of the house. “Tell me what, Mikasa?”

Her eyes slowly shifted to me, “Armin’s gay.”

My expression changed from worry to slight shock, “Wow, what?” One of my dumber moments, I’ll admit.

She rolled her eyes and held out her hand, making a few inappropriate gestures that I couldn’t help but to blush at. “He likes dick.”

“Okay, but why didn’t he tell me?” I was his best friend, after all. It stung to know he’d shared something so personal with Mikasa and not with me.

Mikasa shrugged, “You’re not the most sensitive person, Eren. He didn’t know how you would react. He thought you might think he’s disgusting and hate him.”

I let out a quick breath and lightly hit my hands on the wheel, “Oh, please. He’s like my brother! Armin could be sexually attracted to pizza and I literally would not give a shit.”

I caught the small smile that Mikasa had slipped, but she quickly managed to cover it up with her normally flat expression.

“I wouldn’t judge him for something like that.” I was being genuine, I would never judge Armin for anything.

“Well, that’s good to know. Now can you unlock the car so I can go inside? I have to piss like a horse.”

It was turn to roll my eyes, “No, you still haven’t told me what was wrong with him tonight. He was frowning and spacing out before we left.”

“Ah, so you are perceptive. And here I thought you only paid attention to anything that had to do with you.”

“Mikasa.”

She half waved a hand, “He saw the boy he likes dancing with someone at the club. Don’t ask me who, that’s up to Armin to tell you that. But anyway, that’s why he was drinking more than usual. He was frowning because they were making out on one of the couches by the entrance while we were leaving. You’d be upset if you something like that happened to you, too.” She gestured for me to unlock the door, signaling that there wasn’t anything else to tell.

“Yeah, I guess..” Damn it, if only I had been paying more attention. I then felt bad for taking Armin home to be alone, he should’ve been with me so I could comfort him. Mikasa must have read what I was thinking on my face because she spoke up.

“It’s not your fault. He withheld information, and you’re a dumbass.” She reached over me and unlocked the car, then ruffled my hair as her hand passed by me again. “Good night, Eren.”

I patted my hair back down, giving her a dirty look. She knew I hated when she did that. “Yeah, night.” I left the keys in the ignition for the valet, deciding it was time to go to bed. 

Despite being home earlier than usually I was actually pretty beat. I didn’t think about that man in the ally while climbed the large stairs to the second floor. I didn’t think about him while I showered and then dried myself. I didn’t think about where he was or what he was doing while I slipped into a pair of boxers and sweatpants. Or when I crawled under the warm blankets on my bed and snuggled into my pillows.

I did, however, think of him when my eyes landed on the small bong that I’d apparently forgotten to put away the last time I used it. I knew Mikasa would lay into me the next day about giving away our drug money. Well, we only smoked weed. As if that was any better than nothing at all. 

My mom monitors the money we get with hawk eyes; she doesn’t want us buying anything we shouldn’t be. I would say our allowance sucks, but it’s better than most. She does trust us. 

I still had some dough left over from the last week’s scam, so it would have to be good enough. We get charged more than anyone on the fucking planet, but that’s because we have the means. Ridiculous but worth it. Now I know what you’re thinking, I must have been a bad influence on Mikasa which got her into it. It’s the exact opposite. I caught her in her room one time while we were still in ninth grade. She was with her friend Annie, I always had a hunch Annie was into that sort of thing. In exchange for me not ratting her out, she gave me some. Star sister I’ve got. Anyway, back to the homeless guy.

I tried to remember his face, but it was pretty tough. The dim street lights had barely done anything with how far back into the ally he was sitting, and for some reason that really frustrated me. I wanted to know how he looked in normal lighting, in the sun, out in the open. Not hunched over like that. Why was I even still thinking about him? I didn’t even know him. He was just some random guy who’d I’d been nice to. 

I reached my arm out and shoved the bong into my drawer, letting my arm collapse over the side of the bed when I accomplished that. My arm was getting cold, and fast, but I was way too tired to do anything about it. 

I fell asleep effortlessly and just as soon was woken up by warmth on my face. I tried to open my eyes, but there was something in the way. I quickly brought my hands up to my face, scaring away the cat that had taken up that space moments before. It eyed me predatorily as it padded across the end of my bed and I glared back at it. I swear the thing was always trying to get at me, it wasn’t the first time he’d attempted to suffocate me and he’d even gone as far as tripping me down the steps. Mikasa claimed it was all in my head, but I beg to differ. It wanted me out of the picture so he could have Mikasa all to himself. Smug little asshole.

I looked to my glass doors that led outside, realizing that the sun was pouring in. It seemed like I was only sleeping for a few minutes, but as I turned to the clock I realized it was already ten. I sat up and tried to rub the sleep from my eyes, unsuccessfully. 

There was an abrupt knock on my door, as if whoever had caused it was waiting for the exact moment I woke up. I lazily kicked the covers away from me as I got up and rummaged through one on my dresser drawers, grabbing the first t-shirt I found and pulling it on over my head. I sluggishly dragged my feet to the door and unlocked it, locking it had become a habit for me somewhere along the lines of hitting puberty. I opened the door to be greeted by Sasha, the only slightly older woman with an insatiable appetite who’d been assigned as one of my personal maids. She was holding a plate of biscuits, in the middle of stuffing one into her mouth when I had seemingly interrupted her. She swallowed and smiled brightly raising her free hand in the air. 

"Breakfast! Eren, it’s time for breakfast! Today you’re having quiche with sides of bacon and hash browns! Doesn’t that sound so good? Of course there’ll be fruit, too. Grapes and oranges, apples and pomegranates.” She picked up another biscuit from her tiny plate and took a bite of it, her eyes rolling back into her head at the flavor.

“Thanks, Sasha, but I’m not really hungry. You’ll have to eat my share.” I started to close the door but her foot stopped me from doing so.

“But Armin is here. You don’t want him to eat all those delicious foods by himself, do you? You know I wouldn’t mind eating with him, but I think he’d like your company much more than mine.” She turned and starting walking away, already knowing my answer.

I chatted idly with Sasha as we headed downstairs. When we reached the bottom of the steps she made a beeline right for the kitchen, of course, and I kept on to the dining room. I smiled when I pushed through the double doors to see that Armin really was there, sitting at the far end of the overly sized table. My smile quickly faded when I noticed that he was engaged in conversation with Mikasa. I had been hoping to talk to him about this boy he likes, and why he didn’t confide in me about it. Alone.

Mikasa’s face lifted to see me and her expression dropped. Great, now what the fuck did I do? Armin wouldn’t look at me, either. I let the door fall closed behind me and walked over to the pair, sitting in the chair that sat opposite to them. I crossed my arms over the table and leaned forward, raising my brow questionably. Mikasa patted Armin’s shoulder and gave him a thumbs up before vacating her seat and leaving the room the way I came in. Armin still had his eyes fixated on silverware in front of him, so I took it upon myself to break the silence.

“Armin, you-“

Apparently my voice had been enough to shock him into action. His head whipped up and he stood, leaning across the table with one knee propped up so he had better access to grabbing my shoulders. His eyes were wide, pleading. They said ‘please forgive me'.

“Eren I’m so sorry! I know I should have talked to you about it first, but I was scared and I knew Mikasa wouldn’t care and I probably hurt your feelings and oh god I am such a jerk! Eren-“

I stopped Armin in his little rant when I raised my hand to his cheek and leaned up to brush my lips across his. His cheeks and ears turned bright red and he slowly climbed down from the table to return to his chair. 

I offered a small shrug, unable to hide the smirk that decided on its own that it wanted to be there. “Sorry, I just needed you to shut up.” I waited for Armin to calm down before I continued, “Armin, you’re my best friend. Did you really think I would care who you choose to sleep with?” 

He looked up at me with apologetic eyes and I melted. Any anger that I held before from not being the first person he told vanished. I waved a hand dismissively, “I was hurt when I heard it from Mikasa instead of you, but that doesn’t even matter. When did you know? Since high school? Or did you recently figure this out? No wonder your girlfriends never lasted long.” A thought crossed my mind and I grinned, “Speaking of significant others..”

“Here you are boys!” Sasha entered the room, two big trays of food in her hands. “It smells so good, doesn’t it? It tastes even better!” She set the trays beside us and snuck a couple pieces of bacon before making her way back to the door. “Enjoy you two!” 

“So..”

Armin started filling his plate, and I could still see the light blush on his cheeks. He let out a shaky breath, “No, recent enough, and that’s mean.” He paused, looking up at me properly and smiling. “I’m really glad you’re taking this so well.”

“Like I said, it’s all the same to me. Plus, some guys are an extreme turn on. Who am I to deny that?” I didn’t bother putting anything on my plate, just eating straight from their serving trays.

“Eren, does that mean you’ve thought about this before?”

“I guess.. I don’t really care. Let’s go back to talking about you. Mikasa mentioned this boy you like, do I know him?”

Armin’s eyes widened and he looked away from me, “Uhm..” He fidgeted in his seat and hastily stuffed his mouth full of food.

“Oh god, who is it? Do I hate them?” That would’ve been absolutely horrid, if Armin had a crush on someone I’d depised.

“Sort of..” He regained eye contact with me, a sudden surge of confidence compelling him to continue. “You remember Jean, right? Jean Kirschtein.” He shook his head and smiled, “Of course you do.”

I involuntarily rolled my eyes and sunk into my chair, whining his name. “Armin.” It had to be Jean of all people? That horse faced asshole who I got into it more than once because he’d said vulgar things about my sister? And now Armin liked him? Awesome.

“Hey, he’s not so bad. And I like him.”

“Mikasa mentioned that he was with someone last night..” Way to go, me. Saying something that I knew would make Arming upset.

Armin sighed, “Yeah, that’s Marco Bodt, his ex-boyfriend. Or so he claimed.” He rolled his eyes and pushed his plate away.

“Want to talk about it?” My eyes widened as I thought of the most important question of all, “Wait, wait. How did you even figure out you like Jean? We haven’t seen him since senior year of high school.” I slightly shook my head, “Or rather, I haven’t seen him. What happened?” 

“I’ll just start at the beginning and get to Marco later. You remember over spring break how you were sick, so Mikasa and I went to Palm Springs without you?” 

I nodded, yeah I remembered. That fucking sucked. They had all the fun without me while I was stuck in bed puking all week.

“Well… While we were there I ran into Jean. Mikasa was already hanging with people she met, so I kind of just hung out with him for a while.”

I leaned forward in my chair, eyebrows raised. “Define while.”

“B-Basically the whole time we were there. We talked about a lot and I stayed with him, uhm, in his hotel room a few nights.” Armin’s face flushed, causing my mouth to drop open in reaction to the thought that had flashed through my mind.

“You didn’t.” 

Armin buried his face into hands, he had no reason to reply since the answer was obvious, but he did anyway. “Yes.”

I didn’t really know what to say, so I held out my hand in indication for Armin to continue.

He shrugged weakly, “He was just using me, though. Marco and he had broken up two weeks before and he was just lonely. I, unfortunately, got something out of it.” He sniffed, blinking back tears.

I quickly got up from my seat, rounding the table and placing my hand on Armin’s shoulder. “Come on, let’s talk about this upstairs.”

He nodded and stood, leading the way to my room. I flopped down on my bed and held my arms out for Armin to crawl into. It wasn’t uncommon for us to hug like this when one of us needed comfort. It was never awkward and we were close enough that it shouldn’t be.

Armin scooted into me and wrapped an arm around my waist, burying his face into my chest. I soothingly rubbed his back, urging him to continue from where he left off downstairs.

He breathed in sharply and pulled his face away from my shirt so his words wouldn’t be muffled. “After spring break we got together almost every other week. Sorry for not telling you.” He sighed, closing his eyes. “I thought we really had something going. Up until Tuesday, that is. He hadn’t contacted me in a few days and I was getting worried. I thought I’d finally got a hold of him, but someone else picked up the phone.”

“Marco..”

“Marco. I was so flustered that I just hung up. Then Jean called me later that night and spewed all this bullshit at me about how sorry he was. How he couldn’t talk to me anymore and that I shouldn’t think too much about it because ‘It’s not like we were dating in the first place. It was just for fun, right?’ “ I felt Armin’s grip on the back of my shirt tighten. “That bastard. He knew I really liked him and he just threw me away because his ex-boyfriend came strolling back in. Then when I saw them dancing last night, I finally was able to see what Marco looks like..” He pulled his arm away from my waist and sat up, hiding his head in his knees. “They were good together, Eren. The way Jean looked at him and the way they danced together. They looked good and it makes me so mad. Then they had to be all over each other out in public like that, as if just being in the same room wasn’t enough.” Armin huffed and I sat up to rub his back again.

“Armin, he’s not worth it. He doesn’t deserve you, especially since he’s treated you like shit.” I knew that fucking horse face was no good. 

“I can’t help how I feel. I want to hate him, I don’t know if I do or not. This blows.”

I moved closer and loosely slung my arm around his shoulder. “Why don’t you get some rest? You can spend the night, too. Here.” I gently pushed him onto his back and wrapped the blankets over him. “I’m going to get you some tea so you can relax.”

Armin nodded and turned onto his side, his back facing me. I wanted him to be okay, but I’ve seen him in moods like this before. He’d lie around for a few days and sleep it off until he was tired of doing nothing, then he’d suppress whatever was left down inside him and pretend to be happy. I hated when he did that, I tried to tell him it wasn’t healthy but he always said he was fine.

I sighed and left to retrieve his tea, giving him some extra time to think alone before returning to my room to find that he’d already fallen asleep.

I spent the next few days lounging around with him, reading, playing video games. Well, I played video games while he slept; he wasn’t all too keen on them. I could tell he was starting to feel a little better, or at least tell himself he was. Mikasa had joined us on Sunday and Tuesday to smoke. Annie came over too, but I didn’t really pay much attention to her. I was too worried about Armin. He typically never hit it, but the way he was feeling I would’ve been surprised if he didn’t. He went home on Wednesday; we both agreed that he needed to spend at least some time with his grandfather before the weekend arrived. 

Friday night rolled around all too quickly, and I found myself eager to go out. Armin had opted on not coming along, which was completely understandable. Regardless, I was smiling as I drove our usual Friday night route, and Mikasa took notice.

“The hell’s sprung your dick?”

I flashed her a look and rolled my eyes. “Do you always have to be so vulgar?”

She shrugged, “You’re one to talk. Why do you look so happy?”

“See, was that so hard?” She slugged me in the arm, painfully might I add, but I wouldn’t start complaining about that. “I just.. I don’t know. Remember that guy I gave the money to last week?”

Mikasa didn’t respond, so I went on. “I was hoping he might be hanging around there, to say thanks or something? I want to know that he’s okay.”

I heard her shifting around in her seat and she coughed. She was quiet for a few minutes, but finally spoke up. “Why do you care, anyway?”

I strummed my fingers on the wheel, thinking at the same time that I spoke. “It’s not that, well I guess it could be. I saw him out there numerous times and I never thought anything of it. We pass a lot of people like that, but..”

“But?”

I shrugged, it was amazingly hard to explain. “I don’t know, Mikasa. He seemed different. Like he didn’t belong there. I wanted to help him out.”

“Hm.”

I pulled into the usual spot, it was a quarter after ten and things were barely starting to pick up. That made it easier for Mikasa and me to get to the club quickly, there were no distractions. We walked quietly, as always. I began looking around when we reached the all too familiar street. To my dismay, he wasn’t around. Maybe he’d be there when I was done with whatever fuckwit wanted to challenge me that night.

I tried to be as fast as possible, but it ended up being three o-clock before I was done with my final game. I had made good money that night, almost fifteen grand. I found Mikasa lingering around the lounge and pushed some of the load onto her, I only had so many pockets. I walked slower than I wanted to towards the exit, not wanting to seem too eager. Unfortunately he still wasn’t there. My heart dropped, but I knew that meant he had to be somewhere better and making good use of the money I’d given him. Hopefully.

Three more weeks passed before I met him again. It was completely unexpected because to be honest I had forgotten of my longing to see him again due to the fact that I thought I never would. August had just begun, and it was fucking hot as balls. That particular night I was with a group. Annie and her two friends, Reiner and Bertl, had joined Armin, Mikasa, and I. I had chosen to stay later than usual since they were with us, so it was already almost six. Despite being uncomfortable from the new company I had been in a really good mood. We had all been smoking in an unoccupied room before deciding that since we could almost see the sun coming up, it was time to leave. I was laughing at a joke Reiner had just told when there was a small tug on my sleeve. I turned and looked down to meet black hair and narrow, grey eyes. My eyes widened in response and I shouted for the group to continue on without me. Mikasa and Armin were reluctant, but after a smile from me and a few tugs from the others they were on their way. I glanced back down to where the shorter man stood, but he had already started walking across the street.

“H-Hey, wait up!” I caught up with him just as he was leaning back against the building that he’d been sitting next to only four weeks before. 

He pulled out a pack of cigarettes and placed one between his thin lips, offering me the pack while he dug around in his pocket for a lighter.

“No thanks..” It was hypocritical of me to reject the cigarette, but I’d already been smoking so much that night and I didn’t need more.

He shrugged and stuffed the pack into his back pocket, then cupped his hand around his face to light up. He took a slow drag, barely parting his lips to allow the smoke to escape.

I caught myself from licking my lips at the sight, forcing my eyes to wonder elsewhere. He was in a nice black suit, and a tie to match. The way his pants sat just right on his hips didn’t give way for a satisfactory distraction. I was right in my previous assumption that he’d looked like a man who deserved to wear a fine suit. My eyes scanned further down. His shoes did not look cheap. That was reassuring that he’d put the money I’d given him into buying clothes and not drugs or alcohol like Mikasa had stated he would.

A small breeze trickled through the ally, bringing the scent of his cologne along with it. I hadn’t noticed it before, but once I did I couldn’t get enough of it. I suddenly cleared my throat, trying to push my thoughts somewhere else.

“So, uhm, why are you..?” I wasn’t sure how to finish that question, so I let it run off on its own.

He stared up at me, then dropped his cigarette to the ground and smashed it under his shoe. “Thank you.”

A blush creeped up the back of my neck, and my eyes averted his gaze. “Oh? You’re welcome, it was nothing.”

At that, he grabbed my hands and held them between his own. “It wasn’t nothing. It was everything to me.”

Okay, now I was definitely blushing. “I-O-Oh, well. I’m glad to see you’re doing much better.” I smiled down at him, trying my best not to focus on the way his slender hands held mine.

“Tell you what, since you helped me when no one else gave a shit, I’ll help you.” He let go of my hands, to which I was greatly disappointed.

“Really?” I raised a brow in question, “How?”

He stepped closer and rested one of his hands on my chest, causing my heart to nearly explode just from the contact. “Let me be your personal body guard.”

I sort of only stared at him for a few moments before my face became that of confusion, “What?”

He sighed, “You gave me something, now I’ll give you something in return. Personal protection. I may look small, but I can handle myself.” He paused, eyes squinting further. “What do you say?”

“I don’t know.. If I even need something like that.”

“Of course you do. You’re Eren Jaeger, aren’t you? There has to be someone, somewhere out to get you.”

I groaned, of course he fucking already knew who I was. “I guess..”

“So then what’s the problem?” He slid his hand down my chest, stopping at my stomach, then resting it back to his side. I tried to forget the feel of his touch after it was gone, but it was harder than it seemed.

I crossed my arms and shrugged, “I don’t even know your name.”

He smirked. This guy was actually fucking smirking at me. He leaned up, placing a hand on my shoulder and his mouth right next to my ear. I completely tensed up as he began speaking, low and smooth.

“I’ll only tell you my name if you say yes.”

I bit my lip so the moan that was threatening to escape would remain locked in its cage. 

He suddenly nibbled my earlobe, causing me to gasp. “Well?”

“Mm.. F-Fine.” It would be harmless, right? He’d work for me, and that would be it. Just as a thank you for providing him with what he needed.. Just a simple.. thank you..

He licked up my ear, resulting in a shiver from me. “Good boy. Levi.” He pulled away, his smirk gone.

I blinked slowly a few times, dazed. “Huh?”

He rolled his eyes, “Levi, call me Levi.”

“O-Oh.” Duh. Another example of me being a dumbass.

He started walking away, then stopped and turned back at me. “Well, are you coming? I’m starting tonight.”

I rubbed my ear and sighed, then quickly followed him out to the street and back to my car.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for readin! If there are any mistakes please let me know becuase I did not reread this ahh. I'll probably do that later and add/fix stuff.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I guess I'm updating this on Sunday's then! It's the only day I actually have time to sit and write and think about what I want to write. School is annoying and essays are a bitch to do.
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!

It’s official; I had completely lost my mind. What was I thinking, what was I thinking? What was I thinking!? The answer is clear, I wasn’t.

My grip on my steering wheel was almost deathly as I drove through dimly lit streets, trying not to run off the road but at the same time trying to get home as quickly as possible. I glanced over at my passenger who, thankfully, had his attention laid elsewhere. He was staring out the window, kind of like how Mikasa always did. Even his expression matched hers. I mentally sighed and stopped as gently as I could at a red light. We hadn’t spoken since the ally, not that I minded. It was all so weird and spur of the moment and my brain and I kind of just needed our alone time together. We spent that time thinking about numerous questions we were going to ask him, how old was he, where was he from, how did he become homeless.. then we decided that question was a bit too personal, so we weren’t going to ask it.

Mikasa and Armin had gone home with everyone else, Annie drove a van. It was practical in the sense that she could fit half a sports team in there, but it wasn’t my style. Too bulky and too many opportunities for people you weren’t necessarily fond of to hitch a ride. 

I peeked at Levi again, which proved to be a mistake because he was already staring at me. I gulped and willed away the automatic blush that had formed across my cheeks. “Uhm, so..”

He sat up a little in his seat, causing my grip on the wheel to retighten. “You want to ask me something.”

The fact that that wasn’t a question sort of pissed me off. I have no idea why, but it did. I slightly frowned and allowed my hands to slide halfway down the steering wheel into a more relaxed state. My fingers had begun to throb from their lack of blood flow. “Yes?” My eyes flicked to the road as the light turned green and I eased back onto the gas.

“You get three questions. That counts as one.”

“What!?”

“Two.” Levi wasn’t looking in my direction anymore, his head was turned away from me. That didn’t hold me from noticing the small smirk on his face through the reflection in the window.

I huffed and rolled my eyes, “Fine, have it your way. Why are you so adamant on-“

As if sensing exactly what I was going to say, he cut me off. “Do I have to explain it again? I already answered that. Ask something else.”

I sighed, not at all satisfied with that. I was going to ask him about what he had told me back in the ally, why he really wanted to come ‘protect’ me or whatever. It kind of seemed ridiculous that he would do this just because I helped him out a little. I guess that’s what I unconsciously liked about him, though. He was doing something that no one else would have. Like he said I did. I turned into my gate, giving the guard a two finger wave as he let me pass. “Just..” I sighed again, “Tell me a little about yourself?”

“That’s too general.”

“And you’re too picky.” I stayed quiet after that, a silent invitation from me for him to continue.

Levi sighed, “I’m 25, about 5’3”, a Capricorn, and..” He paused, shifting in his seat to cross his legs. “I like tea.”

“Oh..” I was a bit surprised to learn that he was older than me, he could actually pass for eighteen if he really needed to. 

“Anything else?”

“Wasn’t I only allowed three questions?” I slightly smiled as I pulled up to the front of my house.

Levi shrugged, his eyes scanning our surroundings. “Ah..” I guessed it was his first time seeing a house so unnecessarily extravagant.

“Do you do this a lot?” I turned the car off and relaxed back into my seat. I wasn’t ready to go inside yet. Especially since Mikasa was in there. Sleeping by now, hopefully.

He looked at me again, eyebrows raised. “Do what?”

I half waved my hand, “I don’t know, jump into things? Make rash decisions?”

He rolled his eyes, “I would hardly call this rash. It’s been what, three weeks? I had all that time to think about how I would repay you, and this is what I came up with. Are you having second thoughts?”

More like 5th or 6th. I slowly closed my eyes and rubbed my forehead, “…come on. Let’s go. I’ll give you a tour of the house.” I showed him the downstairs first, trying to be as quiet as possible. It was only a little after seven, and the house didn’t start to come alive until 8, but I didn’t want to take my chances. It was still okay to assume that no one would be running around on the first floor since housekeeping stayed all the way up on the third, but again, I wasn’t taking any chances.

I knew my parents weren’t home, they spent most of the summer at conferences and in hotel rooms. Not that that was much different from the rest of the year. I saw them on t.v. a lot, I would watch them for a couple minutes and then get sick of seeing their faces and change the channel. Mikasa didn’t like that I did that; change the channel. She said we should know what they’re doing, but if she really wanted to know then she should’ve picked up the phone and called them. Not that they were likely to answer.

We had just come up the main stairwell, and I was showing Levi one of the first bathrooms we came across. “So, erm, yeah. There’s a stand in shower in here, but no one ever uses it. We all have our own.” I could tell he wasn’t paying attention. “If you’re bored I can take you home.” 

He looked away, causing my eyes to widen and I waved my hands, “W-Wait, that’s not what I meant, I’m sor-“

Levi grabbed my hand that was closest to him, his fingers curling around mine. “It’s fine. Where’s your room?”

I laughed nervously and used my free hand to help detach Levi’s fingers from mine. He frowned at that.

“It’s this way.” I shoved my hands into my pants pockets and tried not to make eye contact with him as we headed to my room. “Here..it is..” I reached for the handle but Levi beat me to it, opening the door and motioning for me to go inside first.

“After you.”

“Oh, thank you.” I flipped on the light and kept my eyes glued to the carpet, running a hand through my hair as I pointed out everything in my room. “This door leads to my bathroom,” I pushed it open and he peeked his head inside, eyes slightly widening. I’ll admit, I had a nice bathroom. Blue tiles with white gold trimmings, a big round floor level tub, a huge walk in shower that was almost the same size as my walk in closet. Did I need it? No. Did I plan to stop using it anytime soon? Definitely not. I left the door open and pointed to another one on the other side of the room. “And that one is the closet.” I walked over to my glass doors and pushed aside a curtain, letting in the bright stream of sunlight. “There’s just a small balcony out here, nothing special.” I turned back in horror to see him sitting on my bed, legs and arms both crossed. I cleared my throat, “Uhm, how about I show you to your room now? It’s just down the hall.”

Levi scoffed and slowly lowered one of his hands to run it across my comforter. “What are you talking about? It’s obvious that I’ll be staying in here with you.”

My lips pulled down into a tight frown, “B-But why!?”

His eyes narrowed, how was that even possible? They were already set in a perpetual state of narrowness! “How the hell am I supposed to keep an eye on you if I’m on the other side of the building?”

I crossed my arms, “If you were listening you would have heard me say it’s just down the hall.” 

“My answer still stands. No.”

“Excuse me?”

He crossed his arms again, “You heard me.”

I buried my face into my hands, muffling my groan. Why did he have to be so stubborn? I would never have agreed to this if I had realized it meant spending every single second of my day with him. When the fuck was I supposed to have some privacy? If I couldn’t even have it while I was sleeping then that meant it would never come.

“We have security here, in case you didn’t notice the huge ass gates surrounding the whole property. I always keep my door locked, and this is the second floor. Do you really think anyone’s going to get to me up here?”

He shrugged, “Anything is possible.”

“You’re really not going to leave?”

Levi gave me a look that said ‘Of course not you fucking idiot.’ At least that’s how I interpreted it.

“Fine.” I glared as I rushed over to my closet and pulled an extra blanket and pillow from a top shelf cabinet. I hurriedly laid them out on my couch and pointed at my work when I was done. “You’re sleeping here.”

Levi stood and shook his head, “That won’t work.”

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and spoke through a fake smile and gritted teeth. “And why the hell not?”

He made his way over to me and gestured from the couch to the bed. “It’s facing the wrong way. I can’t see you.”

“Then you fix it.” I hadn’t meant to snap, but I was tired and annoyed. I pulled my pajamas from my dresser and went into the bathroom to take a shower. I lost track of time from just standing under the water and when I was finally finished it was quarter to eight. I slowly creaked open the door, the light from the bathroom spilling into the darkened bedroom.

I guessed Levi had turned the lights off and closed the curtain. The first thing I noticed was that he wasn’t in the room anymore, and the second thing I noticed was the new location of the couch. He had it pushed up against the wall, facing out and in clear visible line of both the door and my bed. More so my bed, since he had switched its location with that of my dresser at the foot of the bed. I sighed and lazily tossed my clothes into my hamper, where the hell had Levi gone? Maybe he had to use the bathroom. My eyes scanned my room as best they could in the dark to make sure he hadn’t changed anything else, stopping when I noticed the figure standing out on my balcony. “Oh.” I walked over and slightly opened the curtain, peeking out. 

Levi was leaning against the railing, smoking. I felt like a creep watching him bring the cigarette up to his lips, inhale, slowly exhale.. the smoke seductively dancing around him. I pulled the curtain closed again and blamed my red cheeks on just being in the shower before joining him out on the balcony.

“Ah, I think you just broke the world record for longest shower ever taken.” He flicked some ashes over the edge and brought the cigarette back to his thin lips.

“Mm..” I leaned my back against the rail a few feet away from Levi, looking anywhere but him. 

“Is it okay?”

My eyes widened a little bit and I finally met his gaze. “Huh?”

“The couch, dumbass.” He crushed the end of his cigarette against the railing and dropped it into a small metal tin I had sitting in the corner of the balcony.

I let out the breath I was holding and mindlessly played with my hands. “Oh! Right.. yeah, it’s fine.” I yawned, my eyes blinking tiredly.

Levi clapped his hands to my shoulders and pushed me away from the rail and through the door, “Time for bed.”

“But, I-Uh..”

“No buts.” 

My shoulders slumped under his hands, which is what I assume had made him smile. 

“What, you’d rather do something else instead?” Levi’s hand traveled down my back and onto my hip, where he gave a light squeeze. 

I involuntarily stumbled forward away from his grip, quickly climbing into my bed and securely cocooning myself under my blankets. I thought I heard him chuckle, but I couldn’t know for sure. All sounds of movement stopped and I uncovered my head, sitting up a little and looking over at the couch.

Levi was lying down, blankets wrapped around him, facing the other direction. His head was snuggled into the couch cushions, doing the opposite of what he had claimed was the purpose of moving the furniture in the first place.

I fully sat up, pulling my knees to my chest and crossing my arms over them. I cleared my throat, waiting for a response and grimacing when I didn’t get one. I grabbed an extra pillow off my bed and threw it at him, successfully making him turn over.

I’m pretty sure he was glaring at me, but it was hard to tell. “What, brat?”

I rolled my eyes at being called a brat, “You know what.”

Levi rolled his eyes and threw the pillow back at me, almost hitting me in the face. I brought it to my chest and leaned into it. 

“Levi?” I lowered my chin down onto the pillow.

“What?” He didn’t sound annoyed, which I was thankful for.

“Don’t you have any other belongings? Clothes?”

He shrugged and didn’t offer a reply.

“It’s settled, then.” I smiled and raised my head, tucking the pillow back where it had originally been sitting.

Levi raised a brow at me, “What is?”

“We’re going shopping today.” I smiled to myself as I noticed his eyes widen and laid back down, burying my face into my pillows and eventually drifting off to sleep.

That night, er, morning, I had a really strange dream, and Levi was the center of it. We were at a play, some new turn of the century bullshit that I seemingly had no interest in. My focus was on the young man sitting next to me. It was Levi, except it wasn’t. It looked like him, but he was somehow different. I reached my hand out to him and peeled away the mask that desperately clung to his face. I smiled over my triumph, but when I looked up at his face something still wasn’t right. It wasn’t him, and I again tugged at the fake face that was stuck to his skin. I peeled away layer after layer, becoming more frantic with each new one, Levi’s face becoming even more unrecognizable the deeper I got. I don’t know at what point I’d become aware of this, but everyone in my dream had been staring at us. Even the actors on the stage. They all adorned their own masks, each startling and more terrifying than the last. My hands flew to my own cheeks, tearing away the synthetic fabric and trying to find my true face under all the fakes. I screamed and grabbed Levi’s arm, pulling him to me only to-

My eyes popped open due to the sudden blinding light that was forcing itself upon me. I groaned and searched for the nearest pillow to throw over my face and drown out the painful sunshine.

“You don’t want to turn into a liar, now, do you?”

I groaned again and peeked out from under the pillow at Levi, who was standing next to my bed with his arms crossed. He calmly took the pillow and dropped it off to the side. I rubbed at my eyes, leaving sleep and my nightmare behind. “What?”

“You said you’d take me shopping. It’s already two.” 

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair, I hadn’t bothered to properly dry it last night and I had a horrible case of bed hair. “Right..” I rolled out of bed shuffled to my dresser, momentarily forgetting that I had an observer as I stripped down to my boxers and started pulling on a pair of jeans. I stopped halfway and glanced at him, feeling my neck heating up just from him looking at me.

Levi held out his hand, smirking. “Oh please, don’t stop on my account.”

I quickly averted my gaze and finished dressing, going with a plain dark green t-shirt to match my dark jeans. “Let’s hurry, I don’t want to run into anyone on the way out.” Of course I was referring to Mikasa, but he didn’t know that.

“Mhm..” Levi picked up his blazer that he had neatly draped over the side of the couch and followed me out the door.

I almost ran over Sasha as I rounded a corner, cursing under my breath when her eyes widened at the sight of Levi. She tightly gripped the covered tray of food in her hands, her eyes traveling back and forth between us.

“Eren…” Her brows furrowed, the way they did when she was intensely thinking about something.

“Sasha.” I tried to move past her, but she was too quick and her body was in front of me again. 

To my surprise Sasha’s eyes lit up, and she spoke with a huge smile plastered on her face. “Eren! Why didn’t you say you had a guest? I would have brought up more food!” She looked past me at Levi, “What’s your name? Would you like something to eat? The food here is soooooo good!” Sasha’s smile widened further, “Are you Eren’s new friend?”

“No.” My eyes narrowed and I scooted around Sasha, continuing down the hall. I called over my shoulder, “Hurry up!” I stopped at the stairs and waited for Sasha and Levi to finish conversing, she had offered him a scone and he had taken it.

“She seems nice.” Levi bit into his treat as we walked down the stairs.

“What did she say to you?” I glanced at him and dug my hands into my pockets.

Levi blinked slowly and looked away, “Nothing at all.”

“Liar.”

“Maybe.”

I was about to tell him to kiss my ass when I was stopped by a familiar figure blocking the front door. She didn’t look happy.

“Eren. I need to have a word with you.” Mikasa stormed forward and grabbed my wrist, pulling me towards the dining room. 

I looked back at Levi and shrugged, mouthing for him to just wait there.

Mikasa closed the door behind us and crossed her arms, “What the hell are you doing?”

I rolled my eyes, “I’m going shopping.”

She hissed through her teeth, “Eren.”

I sighed and leaned against the wall. “What’s the big deal? I think I’m old enough to make my own choices.”

“Not when those choices affect everyone around you. Mom and dad-“

I unintentionally raised my voice at my sister, “Aren’t here! They’re never fucking here!”

Mikasa stared down at the ground, frowning.

“Look, I’m sorry. But it’s impossible for them to have a say in anything I do because they’re never around.”

Mikasa crossed her arms and resumed glaring at me. “I’m around.”

I scoffed, “Yeah, you are. Whoop-dee-doo. Your point is?”

She shrugged, apparently not coming up with a suitable response. “Why is he here?”

“I hired him.”

She brought her palm to her forehead, “What ever for?”

I mimicked her shrug, “Security.”

“Eren, if you wanted a body guard you could have just, I don’t know, hired a real one!” Her exasperation was clear in her tone.

“I never said I wanted one!”

“Then why-“

I whipped my hand out to cut her off, “It just happened, okay? Can we just drop it and continue on with our lives?”

Mikasa wasn’t going to let it go. “But Eren, he’s a complete stranger. How can you trust someone like him to come into our home and-“

“Mikasaaaaaa.” I groaned and grabbed her shoulders, “How is that any different from hiring an agency like you just told me to do? And how can you say ‘someone like him’ when he’s a complete stranger? Just because he didn’t have anyone who cared about him automatically means he’s a bad person?” I didn’t even know if I trusted Levi yet, I couldn’t expect her to, but she had to at least try.

She sighed, “No..”

I smiled and massaged her shoulders, “Exactly. Everything will be fine. You don’t have to trust him, just trust me.”

Mikasa made a fist and playfully slugged me in the arm, “Fine. But the second he slips up I’ll be on his ass faster than your premature ejaculations.”

“Wha-“

She smirked and stepped away from my hold, “Annie and I are friends, remember?”

My eyes widened and my cheeks heated up at the memory, “T-That was five years ago! What the hell!”

Mikasa chuckled and started back to the foyer, I followed closely behind explaining to her how it just wasn’t right for them to share that sort of information. Especially since it made me out to be someone who couldn’t hold their own in bed.

Levi was sitting on a cushioned bench by the door, legs crossed and arms folded. I saw him look up as we entered. He stood and joined Mikasa and I half way.

Mikasa put up her usual stony expression, “I hope you find everything you need here.”

Levi nodded, “Thank you.”

Before anything else could be said I wrapped my hand around Levi’s wrist and started pulling him to the door. “I don’t know when we’ll be back. Eat dinner without us.”

Mikasa waved and I let out a relieved sigh when we finally made it outside.

Levi raised a brow and I realized I was still holding his wrist. I pulled my hand away, “S-Sorry..” I pressed a button by the door and buzzed for the valet to bring my car around, standing there in awkward silence until it arrived.

Levi slid a hand onto my shoulder when I reached for my keys and snatched them away from the valet before I could. 

“No way. No way in hell.” I shook my head and held my hand out to grab the keys back, but he was too quick.

He dodged my arm and held the keys behind his back. 

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“My job”

“The last time I checked, ‘chauffer’ wasn’t under your job description.”

Levi rolled his eyes at that, “Like I even have one. Get in the car before I make you.”

My hands balled into fists, “Is that a threat?”

“Yes, now get in the fucking car.” He began walking around to the driver’s seat, ignoring my pleas for him to return the keys.

I gave up, huffing as I entered the passenger side, buckling my seatbelt and pouting. That was my first time ever sitting in that seat, the only two people who’d driven my car were myself and the valet. I was picky when it came to that.

Levi did well enough, though I nearly had a heart attack each time he accelerated the car after stopping at a sign or a light. You couldn’t even call it accelerating, considering he slammed on the gas and practically started at 50 miles per hour.

We made it to the mall in one piece, thank god. I was clutching my chest and my heart was racing, ready to explode all over the insides of my car.

“Don’t be such a baby.” Levi tossed me the keys, and I eagerly stored them in my pocket. There was no way he was driving on the way home.

My legs initially shook as I took my first few steps out of the car, but they regained their proper knowledge of walking after I moved around enough. “Who the hell taught you how to drive?”

Levi found my side and stared ahead, “I did.”

“Oh..”

He shrugged, then held the mall’s door open for me as I walked inside.

“Thank you.”

“Where are we going?”

“Express. Then J.Crew, if we need to. I don’t know what you like to wear, and they both have a good mix of styles.” I paused a beat before adding on, “Then one more store.” I purposefully withheld the last one, it was a surprise. I couldn’t tell if he was okay with all this, his expression remained flat and he didn’t say anything as we entered the first store. “So.. Pick out anything you want, I guess. Try to make full outfits.”

He gave me a look that said ‘I’m not three, I know what I’m doing.’

I rolled my eyes and wandered off into a different part of the store, rummaging through racks and not really paying attention to what I was looking at.

About fifteen minutes later, Levi found me with a stack of clothes between his arms.

I smiled, “You’re going to try them on, right? I want to see.”

He looked away, his brows furrowing. “I don’t know.. Is this really okay?”

I wrapped my arm around his shoulder and ushered him to the changing area, “Of course it is!” I smiled again at him when he rolled his eyes at my enthusiasm and entered into one of the stalls. I took a seat and hummed as I waited for him to come out.

I only had to wait a few minutes before Levi stepped out, sporting a pair of loose light grey jeans and a darker grey sweater vest that sat nicely over a long sleeved dress shirt. Also grey. He even added in a black tie to pull the outfit together. By that point I had figured out that he enjoyed any form of the color black. 

I couldn’t help but stare at him with my mouth open, “Wow.. You look so good!” I stood and walked around him, more or less checking him out.

“Really?” He pulled at the tie, loosening it a little before looking back up at me.

“Of course. This one is definitely going into the purchase pile. Let’s see the next one?”

Levi smiled at me, then realized he was actually smiling and turned to return back to the changing rooms. I rubbed at my cheeks, which decided on their own to heat up.

He showed me all his outfits, which I admit all looked pretty damn good on him. He ended up getting the first outfit, a pair of light purple slacks, another grey button up sweater vest to go with that, and a black and white checkered dress shirt. I urged him to pick out a couple pair of casual jeans and t-shirts, and he did. Levi picked out his own underwear, because, well there was no way I was helping him with that. The cashier rang up the purchases and we moved along to the next store, where Levi chose some pajamas and more casual wear. He really liked sweater vests. Levi selected a few long sleeved shirts, he’d need them sooner or later. I carried half of the bags for him, he told me it was unnecessary but I insisted. There’s no way I was going to let him walk around with fifty bags in his hands. 

Levi started heading for the exit of the mall, but I stopped him by grabbing his wrist. He narrowed his eyes at me, “What are you doing?”

“We aren’t done yet.” I let go of his wrist and waved my hand in the direction I wanted to go, then began walking.

He quickly caught up to me, his eyes slightly widened in shock. “How are we not done? I have ten full outfits, two sets of pajamas, and four pairs of shoes. What else do I even need?”

I suddenly stopped, causing him to bump into my side. I pointed up to the sign of the store that we were standing in front of, which read ‘Men’s Warehouse and Tux’.

“What the hell do I need a tuxedo for?”

I rolled my eyes at him, “It’s and Tux. They mostly have really nice suits. Come on.” 

Levi sighed and followed me, weaving in and out of the people already in the store. We located the back counter and I asked the woman to take Levi’s measurements and find him three suits that complimented him.

“Why do I need three? I already have this one, anyway.”

“Yes, and that one’s wonderful. It suits you very nicely.” I looked back at the lady and smiled, “Three, please.” She nodded and pulled out her measuring tape, gesturing for Levi to stand on one of the round circles in front of a bunch of mirrors. After she was finished she hurried off to find what we wanted.

I was sitting off to the side on a bench, watching the other people in the store when Levi came and sat down next to me.

“Eren.” He slid his hand onto my thigh, I tried to act like I didn’t notice and held his gaze.

“You’re getting three and that’s final.”

“It’s not that.” He gently squeezed my thigh and I gulped.

“W-What,” I cleared my throat before attempting to say anything further, “What is it, then?”

Levi smiled, and I found my stomach caught in my throat. “Thank you.” He gave my thigh one final squeeze before getting up and walking over to the woman who was just returning from her trip through the store.

I covered my face with my hands, curling into my lap and mentally cursing myself for always getting so easily worked up. After about five minutes of me wallowing in self pity I heard someone clear their throat, causing me to look up.

Levi was in the first suit that had been picked out for him, and holy fucking mother of god did he look sexy. What was it about men in formal wear that was such a turn on? Not even men in general, it was Levi who was the turn on. If we weren’t in the eyes of the general public and possibly small children I may have just let him take me right then and there.

I bit my lip and twirled my index finger, indicating for him to turn around. He did, and I may have drooled everywhere if it wasn’t for my mouth being closed.

He raised his eyebrows, obviously aware of what I was thinking. “Do I really look that good?”

My eyes were scanning him all over, and I hadn’t even registered that I was nodding before it was too late. “Ah, uhm! No, I didn’t mean-“

Levi smirked and turned away from me, walking back into the changing rooms by the mirrors. 

I exhaled slowly, fanning myself with my hand and willing every fiber in my body to calm down. 

Eventually Levi came out again, looking just as delectable in the second and third suits as he had in the first. I felt my temperature rising and I was in desperate need of a glass of water.

I grabbed all the shopping bags and joined the woman at the counter while Levi was changing out of the last suit. “We’ll take all three.” I slid my card across the counter to her and waited patiently for her to finish ringing up the purchases. 

The woman, I’d just noticed her name tag said Shelly, smiled as she handed my card back to me, “You’re boyfriend is very lucky to have someone willing to buy all this for him.” She looked down at the multitude of bags I was holding, still smiling.

“Oh, he’s not my-“

“Come on honey, don’t be so modest.” Levi wrapped his arm around my waist from behind as he set the suits on the counter for the worker to bag. 

My voice was caught in my throat, as well as my ability to breathe. I coughed and attempted to pry his fingers off of me, only making him hold on tighter. 

Shelly smiled brighter and thanked us for our business, asking us to return soon and have a good evening. 

Levi finally released me when we were out of sight of the store, and I took that opportunity to push the bags he had been neglecting to carry by hanging onto me back into his hands. My fingers were red and throbbing a little from all the weight. 

“Are you hungry?” I muttered under my breath, not particularly caring if he heard me or not. He hadn’t.

“Huh?”

I sighed, a little annoyed. More at myself than at him. “Are you hungry? We can get something quick like fast food or sit down and take our time. I don’t care.”

Levi nodded, “Let’s take our time, then.”

We ended up at a little Italian place called Paolo’s, the atmosphere was calming and there wasn’t an over bearing amount of people around. It was actually kind of nice. We were in a booth which made it easier for us to store our bags next to us and under the table.

“Levi?” I fiddled with my menu, raising it up between the two of us so he couldn’t see me while I spoke.

“Mhm?” I saw him reach for his glass of wine that he’d ordered, I didn’t want to interrupt him in the middle of drinking, but I didn’t want to take too long to say what I need either.

“Are you gay? I mean, you are, right? You have to be.” I peered over the top of my menu just in time to see the silent chuckle that passed through him.

“Great deduction skills, Eren.” He took a sip of his drink before placing it back onto the table. 

I put my menu down and squinted my eyes at him, “Was that a yes?”

Levi reached his hand out, hovering it in front of my face before flicking my nose and pulling away again. “Yes, dumbass.”

I rubbed my nose, that actually sort of hurt. “So, what? You’re advancing on me because I’m being nice to you?”

He looked hurt by that, “No, of course not.”

I raised a brow, “Not even a little bit?”

Levi crossed his arms and leaned back into his seat, looking away.

I lightly tapped my palm against the table, “See, I knew it! Well, allow me to let you in on a little secret, I don’t need it. I’m not doing this to get anything from you, I’m doing this because I want to. So from here on out you can stop feeling the need to touch me.” That came out harsher than I had intended it to.

Levi sighed and half rolled his eyes, “I know that, brat.” He reached out for his glass again, but stopped halfway, resting his hand on the table. “What if it wasn’t because I feel the need to repay you?” He spoke softly, treading lightly.

I straightened up as our food arrived, saving me from responding to his inquiry. I dug into my plate so I could purposefully avoid conversation. It worked, because Levi was eating instead of trying to talk to me.

Alas, my supply of food dwindled by the forkful. I took my last bite and wiped my face on my napkin, looking around for the waiter so I could order desert right away and begin to stuff my face with that. On my journey for the waiter my eyes found Levi’s, and despite my best effort to look away I held his gaze.

“What?” I nervously tapped my foot on the floor.

“Answer my question, Eren.” He was serious.

“I don’t know how to.” I was serious.

Levi shrugged and his expression relaxed, “That’s good enough, for now.”

“F-For now?” I tightly gripped my fork, having to force myself to put it down before I bent it.

He was back to smirking again, “You’ll find your answer soon enough, even if you can’t on your own. I’ll help you.”

I groaned and laid my palm across my forehead. “Where’s that damn waiter? I’m ready for desert.”

Levi chuckled and my cheeks burned. I could already tell this was going to be an eventful year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I rushed the end. I'm tired and I wanted it to be over with and posted. I've been sitting at this laptop all day, ahahaha;; I know I'm going to go back and change the ending some how. Maybe.


End file.
